Paint applicator



March 26, 1963 c. T. OLSON ET AL PAINT APPLICATOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledOct. 18, 1961 Carl 7 Olson Charles F Eckerf INVENTORS 4062. BY an Ammrq:

March 26, 1963 c. T. OLSON ETAL PAINT APPLICATOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FiledOct. 18, 1961 Fig.2

Carl 7? Olson Char/es E E c/rerf INVENTORS wavy 3M 3,082,469 PatentedMar. 26, 1963 3,082,469 PAINT APPLICATOR Carl '1. Olson and Charles F.Eckert, Belle Vernon, Pa., assignors of twenty-five percent to FrankGiuliano, Belle Vernon, Pa.

Filed Oct. 18, 1961, Ser. No. 145,898 6 Claims. (Cl. 15-522) Thisinvention relates to paint applicators of the roller type including itsown supply of paint for distribution to the roller for spreading therebyon walls, ceilings and other flat surfaces.

The primary object of this invention, is to provide a paint rollingapparatus containing its own supply of paint for even distribution onthe roller for painting remotely accessible surfaces while avoiding theinconvenience of frequently dipping the roller in a pan of paint.

It is a further object of this invention to provide means for collectingany excess paint on the roller for return to the paint supply carriedwithin the applicator itself which applicator nevertheless will notpermit spillage of paint therefrom when not in an upward paint spreadingposition.

in accordance with the foregoing objects, the applicator involves anelongated handle, rotatably mounting at one end thereof a paintspreading roller, in contact with a paint distributing roller to whichpaint is supplied from a reservoir chamber located within the handleportion of the applicator which handle includes its own manualactuatable pump for filling the distributing roller with paint whendesired. The handle is hollow and of considerable length so that theuser may reach remotely accessible surfaces and also so that the handlemay constitute a sizable paint reservoir chamber requiring infrequentloading. A funnel-shaped paint collecting shroud encloses the paintdistributing roller and thereby channels excess paint on the spreadingroller back into the reservoir chamber in the handle through a one-wayvalve which prevents the flow of paint out of the reservoir chamber andthereby prevents spillage.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the applicator unit representing theinvention of this application.

FIGURE 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the ap-. plicator along theplane indicated by the section line 22 in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a side sectional view of the top half of the applicatorthrough a plane indicated by the section line 33 in FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is a view taken through the plane indicated by the section line44 in FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the lower part of theapplicator with the pump plunger shown in an intermediate position.

Referring first to FIGURE 1, there is shown therein the applicatorgenerally designated by the reference numeral '10 which includes anelongated handle portion 12 having a funnel-shaped shroud 14 connectedthereto at its upper end exposing a paint spreading roller 16 rotatablymounted on bracket 18 also secured to the top end of the handle 12.

Referring now to FIGURE 2, bracket 18 has secured thereto a spindle 20on which the roller 16 is rotatably mounted and also fixedly secured tothe bracket 18 is a hollow axle 22 sealed at one end by part 24 andconnected at its other end by fitting 26 to a conduit 28 extendingbeneath bracket 18 and down along the handle 12. The hollow axle 22 hasa plurality of apertures 30 for passage of paint therethrough into aroller 32 which is hollow and is rotatably mounted on the axle 22, saidroller 32 constituting a paint distributing roller having apertures 34therein and being in contact with the paint spreading roller 16 as moreclearly seen in FIGURE 3.

As seen in FIGURE 2, the handle portion 12 of the applicator has a paintreservoir chamber 36 which may be loaded with paint by pouring paintinto the top of the funnel-shaped shroud 14, the paint then enteringinlet 38 and openings 40 into the chamber 36, the ball valve 42preventing any flow of paint out of the chamber 36 because of movementof the ball valve 42 to close the inlet 38. At the bottom of the handleportion 12 is a pump chamber 44 separated from the paintreservoirchamber 36 by a spring biased one-way valve 46 which will open inresponse to suction created within chamber 44 to'admit paint fromchamber 36 into chamber 44. The chamber 44 is connected to the conduit28 by means of one-way ball valve 46' located within fitting 48 forconnecting the pump chamber 44 to the conduit 28 in one direction forsupplying paint to the distributing roller 32 via hollow axle 22.

In order to pump the paint into the distributing roller 32 whenadditional paint is desired for the roller 16, the pump chamber 44 isprovided with a pump piston 50 which may be actuated by a plunger 52against the bias of spring '54-. As seen in FIGURE 5, the plunger 52 andpiston 50 are in an intermediate position and moving in the directionindicated by the arrow 56 shown in solid lines, so that paint trappedbetween the piston 50 and valve 46 is forced past one-way valve 46' intoconduit 28 for supply to the paint distributing roller 32. When thepiston 50 is being retracted by the spring in the direction of arrow 58shownindot-ted lines in FIGURE 5, suction is created in the chamber 44above the piston 50 thereby opening valve 46 against its spring bias asshown in dotted lines in FIGURE 5, to admit paint from the chamber 36into pump chamber 44 while one-way valve 46 prevents egress of paintfrom chamber 44 as it is being charged with paint from chamber 36 inpreparation for a following pump stroke actuation of the plunger Aspreviously indicated, one-way valve 42 prevents the flow of paint fromchamber 36 out of inlet 38 so that when the applicator is held in adownward position, op-

, example when it is desired to paint a floor, in which case the valve42 may be held in its open position by means of a finger 60 securedto apin or shaft 62 pivotally mounted in the handle and connected to a leveror arm 64 which is connected by link 66, as more clearly seen in FIGURE1, to a slide member or ring 68 slidably mounted on the outside of thehandle portion 12 and actuatable against the bias of spring 70.

From the foregoing description, operation and use of the applicator isclearly apparent. It is also apparent, that the applicator may easily becleaned by removal of the paint roller, draining the paint out of thechamber 36 by holding the valve 42 open through movement of slide 68,pouring paint remover or thinner into the chamber 36 and finally pumpingit through the applicator with its pumping mechanism.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalentsmay be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention asclaimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

-1. A paint applicator. comprising a hollow handle, pump means locatedat one end of said handle, pain-t collecting means mounted at anopposite end of said handle and reservoir means disposed within saidhandle and intermediate the ends thereof, paint spreading means anddistributing means mounted at said opposite end of said handle andsupply means responsive to actuation of said pump means for supplyingpaint from said reservoir means to said distributing means, saidreservoir means including a releasable one-way valve connecting thecollecting'means and the reservoir means for permitting flow of paintfrom said collecting means to said reservoir means, and means forreleasing the valve comprising a ring slidable on the handle andoperatively connected to said valve.

2. The applicator as defined in claim 1, wherein said supply meansincludes a hollow axle mounting said distribu-ting means, conduit meansconnecting said pump means to said axle, said axle having aperturestherein for the passage of paint therethrough to the distributing means.

3. The applicator as defined in claim 1, wherein said pump meansincludes a plunger-actuated piston, slidable within a pump chamberformed at said one end of the handle, and oppositely acting one-wayvalve means connecting said pump chamber with said supply means andreservoir means respectively.

4. A paint applicator comprising a hollow handle, pump means located atone end of said handle, paint collecting means mounted at an oppositeend of said handle and reservoir means disposed within said handle andintermediate the ends thereof, paint spreading means and distributingmeans mounted at said opposite end of said handle and supply meansresponsive to actuation of said pump'means for supplying paint from saidreservoir means to'said distributing means, said reservoir meansincluding a releasable one-way valve connecting the collecting means andthe reservoir means for permittingflow of paint from said collectingmeans to said reservoir means, said supply means including a v hollowaxle mounting said distributing means, conduit means connecting saidpump means to said axle, said axle having apertures therein for thepassage of paint therethrough to the distributing means, and means forreleasing the valve comprising a ring slidable on the handle andoperatively connected to said valve.

5. A paint applicator comprising a-hollow handle, pump means located atone end of said handle, paint collecting means mounted at an'oppositeendof said handle and reservoir'means disposed within said handle and intermediate the ends thereof, paint spreading means and distributingmeans mounted at' said opposite end of said handle and supply meansresponsive to actuation of said said pump means to said axle, said axlehaving apertures therein for the passage of paint therethrough to thedistributing means, said pump means including a plungeractuated piston,slidable within a pump chamber formed at said one end of the handle,oppositely acting one-way valve means connecting said pump chamber withsaid supply means'and reservoir means respectively, and means formanually releasing the first-named valve, the lastnamed means includinga ring slidably mounted on the handle and operatively connected to saidfirst-named valve.

6. A paint applicator comprising an elongated hollow handle rotatablymounting at one end, a paint spreading roller and fixedly mountingparallel thereto, a hollow axle having apertures therein, a paintdistributing roller having apertures therein rotatably mounted on saidhollow axle and contacting said paint spreading roller, a funnel-shapedshroud partially enclosing said distributing roller connected to saidhollow handle adjacent said one end thereof, a pump chamber locatedwithin said hollow handle at its other end, a reservoir chamber locatedwithin said handle intermediate the ends thereof, a condnit connectingsaid pump chamber to one end of said hollow axle, oppositely actingone-Way valves connecting said pump chamber to the conduit and reservoirchamber respectively, a one-Way spillage valve located in said reservoirchamber at one end thereof adjacent said one end of the handle andconnecting the collecting chamber with the reservoir chamber andselectively operable means for holding said spillage valve in openposition, the lastnamed means including a shaft journaled in thereservoir chamber, an arm on the shaft, a ring slidable on the reservoirchamber, a link operatively connecting said ring to the arm, and afinger on the shaft engageable with the spillage valve for opening same.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,047,199 Gewalt July 14, 1936 2,284,874 Kokay June 2, 1942 2,554,571.Heishman May 29, 1951 2,563,842. Johnson Aug. 14, 1951 2,609,558 JohnsonSept. 9, 1952 2,849,736 Kohle Sept. 2, 1958 8,036,327 Crawford May 29,1962 FOREIGN PATENTS 843, 007 France Mar. 30, 1939 1,236,218 France June7, 1960

1. A PAINT APPLICATOR COMPRISING A HOLLOW HANDLE, PUMP MEANS LOCATED ATONE END OF SAID HANDLE, PAINT COLLECTING MEANS MOUNTED AT AN OPPOSITEEND OF SAID HANDLE AND RESERVOIR MEANS DISPOSED WITHIN SAID HANDLE ANDINTERMEDIATE THE ENDS THEREOF, PAINT SPREADING MEANS AND DISTRIBUTINGMEANS MOUNTED AT SAID OPPOSITE END OF SAID HANDLE AND SUPPLY MEANSRESPONSIVE TO ACTUATION OF SAID PUMP MEANS FOR SUPPLYING PAINT FROM SAIDRESERVOIR MEANS TO SAID DISTRIBUTING MEANS, SAID RESERVOIR MEANSINCLUDING A RELEASABLE ONE-WAY VALVE CONNECTING THE COLLECTING MEANS ANDTHE RESERVOIR MEANS FOR PERMITTING FLOW OF PAINT FROM SAID COLLECTINGMEANS TO SAID RESERVOIR MEANS, AND MEANS FOR RELEASING THE VALVECOMPRISING A